Constant-level device for sheet-feeders.



F. W. SAUER. CONSTANT LEVEL DEVICE FOR SHEET FEEDERS.

APPLICATION FILED IULY 5.1917.

F. W. SAUER. CONSTANT LEVEL DEvlcE EoR SHEET EEEDEES.

n APPLICATION FILED JULY 5| I9I. l Q' Patented May 28,191.8.

` 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- FREDERICK W. SAUER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

CONSTANT-LEVEL DEVICE FOR SHEETeFEEDERS.

Lenmar.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that L FREDERICK W. SAUER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, city of New York, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented new and useful Tniprovements in Constant-Level Devices for Sheet- Feeders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sheet feeders, and the object is to provide simple and etticient means for maintaining a substantially constant top level of the pile of sheets, so as to preserve a constant operative relation between the top sheet and the means for advancing the same onto the tapes. The invention comprises the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation with intermediate portions broken away for economy of space;

Fig. 3 is a section, transverse to the rockshaft, showing a detail; and l Fig. 4 is a detail sectional View on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

In a frame 1 is a vertically movable table frame 2-having a table top 3. This table top may simply rest upon the table frame, so as to be readily removable therefrom, and may be held against lateral displacement by corner pins 4 projecting downward from the table top in the corner angles of the frame, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The table is raised by means of screws 5 at opposite sides of the machine bearing nut members 6 engaging bracket sockets 7 on the table frame 2. Adjustment devices 8 at the bottoms of the screw shafts are provided for purposes of leveling the table.

A rotary shaft 9 extends transversely over the top of the frame 1 and bears at its opposite end portions bevel pinions 10 meshing with bevel ears 11 on the ends of the screw shafts 5. n arm 12' is hung loosely upon the shaft 9 and bears a pawl 13 engaging with a ratchet wheel 14 fixed to the shaft. Secured to the lower portion of the arm 12 is'a curved segment. 15, formed on its lower edge with abutments 16 having the form of ratchet teeth.

A link 17, pivoted to the arm 12 at 18, en-

Specication of Letters atent.

- from the top of the pile.

Patented May 28, 13%.

nplication led July 5, 1917. Serial No. 173,627.

tends therefrom to a. rotary shaft 19 driven by suitable means represented by the gear 20 seen in Fig. 2. This portion of the link is preferably slotted, as shown at 21 in Fig. 1, in order that it may embrace and be guided upon the shaft 19. The said shaft bears an open cam 22, which is adapted to act upon the link 17 through a cam roll 23 borne thereby. Thus means is provided for actuating the reciprocatory portion of the pawl and ratchet mechanism in one direction.

The return stroke of the reciprocatory parts connected with the pawl 13, which takes place under the action of gravity or of a spring, as preferred, ispermitted to a greater or less extent or prevented entirely by the action of a stop, which is movable into and out of the path of the series of abutments 16. The said stop is preferably constituted by a swinging arm 24 having a laterally projecting extremity 25 formed to engage the abutments. which face rearward with respect to the direction of movement forced by the cam. The movement of this arm is controlled b v a feeler 26, which cooperates with the top of the pile supported by the table. This feeler preferably comprises a pair of arms bearing a transverse roller 27 between their free ends, and vsecured at their opposite ends to a rock-shaft 28 extending across the front of the frame l. The roller 27 rests upon the top of the pile. near the front and directly behind an intermittently operating pneumatic device 29 which delivers the sheets successively Such mechanism ma;v be of the kind disclosed in Patent 1.105.352 of July 28, 1914.

The stop arm 24 is connected to the feeler 26 through a short arm 30, which is secured to the rock-shaft 28. The forward portion of the link 24 is pivoted to this short arm at 31. and is normally held stationary against a. fixed stop 32 on the short arm by a spring 33, which is also attached to the short arm and bears upon the top of the tail portion of the stop arm. Tf the feeler 26, however, be lifted while the stop arm 24 is in engagement with the segment 15, the spring 33 will yield; at other times the fee-ler arm 26 and the stop arm 24 move in unison.

The jointed stop arm 24, and the double feeler arm 26 being fixed upon the rock-shaft 28 at the desired angular relation, it will be apparent that lowering of t-he top of the pile, owing to removal of sheets therefrom, will cause the stop to move out 'of engagement with the abutment seg` ment 15, whereupon the cam roll 23 on the link 17 is free to return into position to be acted upon by the cam 22, thus producing an upward movement of the table and pile until the raising of the feeler causes the stop to rengage with the abutment segment. This limits the return movement of the pawl arm 12, by reason of one of the abutment-s 16 coming into contact with the stop portion 25, and accordingly the next movement produced by the cam 22 will be only a partial one, and after that the pawl and ratchet mechanism will remain at restuntil descent of the feeler 26 again withdraws the stop from the path of the abutments. If the stop comes into engagement with the abutment segment during or preparatory to an outward stroke of the link 17, produced by the cam 22, the stroke is completed because of the ability of the abutments 16 toy ride over the stop when moving in this direction, and the slight downward yielding of the arm 24 caused by this action may be accommodated by the spring 33. When the outward stroke is finished, however, the stop prevents return movement of the segment 15 and of the pawl arm 12, thus holding the roll 23 clear of the cam 22 until the feeler descends sufficiently to take the stop away from the abutment segment, as above indicated. It will be observed that the stop arm 24, 30 is substantially longer than the feeler arm 26, so that the extent of vertical movement at the feeler roller 27 is considerably magnifiedI at the stop extremity 25.

Under certain conditions, as for example when the paper is of a spongy condition so that it tends to bulge up in front of the roller 27, it becomes, necessary to vary the relation between the stop and feeder arms, and for this purpose the short arm section 30 of the stop may be fixed to the shaft 28 by a 'set screw 34,k which permits this arm to be losened,shifted relatively to the shaft, and tightened again in a fresh position.

Means are provided for raising the feeler at intervals corresponding to the periods Of operation of the feeding means 29. To this end the rock-shaft 28 carries a depending arm 35 bearing a cani roll 36 which is acted upon by another cam 37 on the shaft 19. For the purposes of adjustment, the said arm is preferably hung loosely upon the shaft 2S and provided near its upper end with a lateral projection 38, which is held between opposed adjustment screws 39 carried bya yoke 40 which is fastened to the shaft by a set screw 41. When the feeler is lifted by the cam 37, the spring 33 yields, the jointed arm 24, 30 flexing about the pivot 31. lVhen the feeler is lowered again upon thetop of the pile, the spring restores the jointed arm to its normal condition with the tail portion of the arm 24 against the stop 32.

A hand crank 42 fixed to one end of the shaft 9 enables the table 2 to be raised or lowered quickly when desired, and for the purpose of quickly disengaging the pawl 13 from the ratchet 14 a tripping device 43 may be pivoted to the arm 12, as seen in Fig. 1.

What is claimed as new is:

In a sheet feeder, the combination with a table and elevating means including a reciprocatory pawl, of an abutment connected with the pawl, a transverse rockshaft over the forward part of the table, a feeler carried by said shaft, a stop arm also carried by the rock-shaft and extending rearward into operative relation to said abutment, and a yielding connection interposed betweeu said stop arm and the rockshaft., said stop arm comprising a short-arm section having means for adjusting it angularly upon the rock-shaft, a long-arm section pivoted to the short-arm section, and a spring yieldingly holding the two sections of the stop arm in normal relation.

Dated, New York, June 30th, 1917.

FREDERICK W. SAUR.

Witnesses:

G. H. MURPHY, F. V. SHEEHAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

